PDA: Prevent Direct Access to Files, URLs & Folders; Create Private/Secure Links

The most powerful file protection plugin trusted by 50,000+ sites | 286+ Five-Star Reviews

🔒 Secure Your WordPress Files in 60 Seconds

⚡ One-click protection – Secure files directly from Media Library
🔗 Smart URL replacement – Auto-updates embedded links site-wide (Gold)
🛡️ Military-grade security – Even if they know the URL
📁 Folder protection – Secure thousands of files at once (Gold)

👉 Download Free | Get PDA Gold

📊 What Makes PDA Different

🚫 WITHOUT PDA: Upload a “private” PDF → Anyone with the URL can download it → AI & Google indexes it → Zero protection

✅ WITH PDA: Upload any file → One-click protection → Auto-updates all embedded URLs → True privacy + search engine blocking

Exclusive PDA features no other plugin offers:
• Automatic URL replacement (no broken links!) (Gold)
• Folder protection – secure entire directories (Gold)
• Amazon S3 integration (Gold)
• Magic links with expiration (Gold)

Note: For complete content protection including pages/posts, pair with Password Protect Page Pro.

🎯 The File Security Crisis Nobody Talks About

❌ The Actual Truth:
– Anyone who knows your file URL can access it – even private files!
– AI & Google indexes your “private” PDFs and shows them in search results
– Competitors steal your premium content and resell it
– Your client files are exposed to the public
– WordPress has ZERO built-in file protection

✅ The PDA Solution:
– True URL protection – Files secured even if URL is known
– Automatic URL replacement – Updates all embedded links instantly
– Search engine blocking – Your files stay OFF Google and AWAY from AI Scraping bots
– Hotlink prevention – Stop bandwidth theft
– One-click security – No complex configuration

🤔 Why Every WordPress Site Needs File Protection

With cybercrime damages predicted to hit $10.5 trillion by 2025, protecting your digital assets isn’t optional – it’s essential. Yet WordPress has a massive security hole: uploaded files are publicly accessible by default.

The Problem: Upload a “private” document to WordPress, and anyone with the URL can download it. Worse, AI bots and Google can index it, allowing competitors to easily find and steal your work. There’s no access control whatsoever.

The Solution: PDA transforms WordPress into a secure file vault while maintaining the ease of use you love. Protect files with one click, share secure links with authorized users, and sleep knowing your content is truly private.

⚡ Features That Make PDA #1

🆓 FREE Forever Features

🛡️ Direct URL Protection
The core magic of PDA – files become inaccessible via direct URL access, even if someone knows the exact path. Only users with proper permissions can view protected files. Unauthorized visitors get your 404 page instead.

🎲 Auto-Generated Private Links
Each protected file gets a unique, unguessable private download link (also known as an expiring link). These links aren’t indexed by search engines and are the only way to access protected files. While anyone with the link can access the file, you can set download limits and expiration times — ideal for temporary sharing like marketing campaigns.

🚫 AI Indexing & Search Engine Blocking
PDA explicitly tells AI Indexing Scrapers, Google, Bing, and other search engines not to index your protected files. Your private PDFs, documents, and media will never appear in search results. This works at the server level for bulletproof protection.

🖼️ Image Hotlink Prevention
Stop other sites from stealing your bandwidth by embedding your images. When enabled, images can only be displayed on your domain. This feature alone can save significant hosting costs for image-heavy sites.

🗂️ Upload Directory Protection
Your entire wp-content/uploads folder becomes protected. Directory browsing is disabled, preventing anyone from seeing a list of all your uploaded files. A critical security layer most sites miss.

👤 IP-Based Access Control
Block specific IP addresses from accessing your private links. Perfect for preventing access from problematic users or regions.

👥 File Author Permissions
By default, file authors and admins can always access protected files directly. This ensures content creators maintain access to their uploads while blocking everyone else.

📊 Media Library Integration
PDA adds a dedicated column to your Media Library list view. See protection status at a glance, configure settings without leaving the media screen, and manage hundreds of files efficiently.

💎 GOLD Power Features

🔗 Automatic URL Replacement (Exclusive to PDA Gold)
This game-changing feature automatically finds and replaces unprotected file URLs already embedded in your posts and pages. No manual updating needed – PDA handles everything in the background. When you protect a file, every instance across your site updates instantly.

👤 IP-Based Access Control
Aside from blocking IP addresses from accessing private links, you can also whitelist IPs at different levels:
– Global level
– File level
– Entire site

📁 One-Click Folder Protection
Protect entire folders without manually updating individual files. Simply specify a folder path and all current and future files inside are automatically secured. Perfect for:
– Course materials organized by module
– Client project folders
– Monthly content archives
– Departmental documents

🧙‍♂️ Private Magic Links
An upgrade from standard private links, Private Magic Links let you control who can access your files — just like protected links. Perfect for:
– Portfolio previews
– Document review without distribution
– Temporary access for contractors
– Preview-before-purchase scenarios

Even when set to “anyone,” Magic Links can expire just 1 second after page load, ideal for view-only access — preventing sharing or reuse. Once expired, refreshing the page auto-generates a new link for seamless access.

🔐 Shared Private Links
Create a single download link that tracks usage per logged-in user. Features:
– Individual download limits per user
– Detailed usage analytics
– Perfect for licensed content
– Prevents password sharing abuse

☁️ Amazon S3 Integration
Extend PDA protection to cloud storage. Features:
– Protect S3-hosted files
– Generate expiring S3 URLs
– Sync local and cloud protection
– Search & replace S3 URLs in content
– Multi-bucket support
– Wasabi storage compatible

🛒 Advanced WooCommerce Integration
Transform WooCommerce into a digital content powerhouse:
– IP restrictions for order pages – Prevent order sharing
– Time-limited download access – Set expiration after purchase
– Product-specific file protection – Different rules per product
– Download attempt tracking – Monitor usage patterns
– Reset download limit and expiry of WooCommerce “parent” products

👤 Custom Role Integration
Go beyond WordPress defaults with granular permissions:
– Membership plugin support – Integrate with MemberPress, Paid Memberships Pro, etc.
– Custom role selection – Use roles from any plugin
– Bulk permission updates – Change access for hundreds of files at once
– Role-based folders – Auto-assign permissions based on upload location

🔍 Advanced Access Restrictions
The AR Extension adds enterprise-grade control:
– Geographic restrictions – Limit access by country
– Referrer requirements – Must come from specific sites
– Custom access rules – Build complex permission logic

🚀 Performance Features
– CDN compatibility – Works with all major CDNs
– Caching optimization – Smart cache bypassing for protected content
– Lazy permission checking – Minimal performance impact
– Bulk operations – Update thousands of files efficiently

📈 Professional Features
– Access logs – Track every file access attempt
– Bandwidth monitoring – See how much you’re saving
– Suspicious activity alerts – Get notified of potential breaches
– White-label options – Remove PDA branding
– Multi-site support – Network-wide protection
– REST API – Integrate with external systems

💡 REAL-WORLD USE CASES

📚 USE CASE #1: DIGITAL PRODUCT CREATOR

You sell ebooks, courses, and templates.
Problem: Customers share download links, costing you thousands in lost sales.

👉 PDA Solution: Generate unique Shared Private Links for each customer.

• Set up download limits and expiry time, link access permission
• Track download limits and expiry time per user
• Shared private links won’t work for others if don’t have correct permission

📸 USE CASE #2: PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS

You deliver high-resolution images to clients but must prevent unauthorized downloads and Google indexing.

👉 PDA Solution:

• Use PDA Magic Private Links that allow viewing but block downloads
• Set an expiration after the review period
• Keep images off Google while clients browse galleries

🏢 USE CASE #3: CORPORATE DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT

Internal documents are appearing in Google searches, creating security risks.

👉 PDA Solution:

• Folder Protection secures entire department directories
• S3 Integration protects cloud storage
• IP restrictions ensure office-only access

🎓 USE CASE #4: ONLINE COURSE PLATFORM

Course materials require different access levels for different membership tiers.

👉 PDA Solution:

• Custom Role Integration works with your LMS
• Folder Protection organizes content by course
• WooCommerce Integration automates access after purchase

🏥 USE CASE #5: HEALTHCARE / LEGAL FILES

Sensitive documents need audit trails and strict access control.

👉 PDA Solution: PDA Gold Statistics

• Access logging tracks every file view
• Geographic restrictions ensure compliance
• Time-based access limits exposure windows

🎬 USE CASE #6: VIDEO CONTENT PROTECTION

Large video files on S3 need protection without sacrificing performance.

👉 PDA Solution:

• Generate time-limited streaming URLs via S3 Integration
• CDN compatibility ensures fast delivery
• Bandwidth monitoring shows cost savings

🛠️ Technical Excellence

Server Compatibility
✅ Apache – Works out of the box
✅ Nginx – Configuration guide provided
✅ LiteSpeed – Fully compatible
✅ IIS – Supported with guide

Hosting Compatibility
✅ WP Engine    ✅ SiteGround    ✅ Kinsta
✅ Cloudways    ✅ GoDaddy    ✅ Bluehost

Developer Features
// Extensive hooks for customization
pda_before_file_protection
pda_after_url_generation
pda_access_check_override

// REST API endpoints
/wp-json/pda/v1/protect
/wp-json/pda/v1/generate-link

🪙 Simple, Transparent Pricing

Feature                      | Free Forever | PDA Gold
------------------------------------------------------
Perfect for basic protection | ✅           | ✅
Unlimited file protection    | ✅           | ✅
Private download links       | ✅           | ✅
Search engine blocking       | ✅           | ✅
Hotlink prevention           | ❌           | ✅
WordPress.org support        | ✅           | ✅
URL auto-replacement         | ❌           | ✅
Folder Protection            | ❌           | ✅
Amazon S3 Integration        | ❌           | ✅
WooCommerce Integration      | ❌           | ✅
Magic Links                  | ❌           | ✅
Priority support             | ❌           | ✅
Lifetime updates             | ❌           | ✅
Price                        | $0 forever  | From $179 one-time

💡30-Day Money Back Guarantee – No risk, no questions asked

What Gold Members Say:

“The folder protection alone saved me 20 hours of work. Best investment ever!”
— Tom K.

“S3 integration + Magic Links = game changer for my photography business”
— Lisa M.

⭐ Why 50,000+ Sites Choose PDA

Success Metrics:
📈 $2.3M+ saved from prevented content theft
🛡️ 1.2B+ unauthorized access attempts blocked
⚡ 4.7/5 average review rating
🌍 147 countries using PDA

Recent Reviews:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“The team at Prevent Direct Access helped me find a custom solution that I wouldn’t have been able to complete without their help. They were responsive, kind, and came to a solution that worked well on the website.”
— sasha49

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Muhammad and the PPWP team are very helpful. We had an issue with caching and anchor tags not working on our website. PPWP investigated the issue immediately and provided us with some custom code snippets to fix the website within 24 hours.”
— vfactoruk

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“I am extremely happy with simplicity and effectiveness of even this free product. The support I received from Quinnie was phenomenal and unusual for a free product. She was patient and persistent in helping and solving the issue. Thanks.”
— sbdesh

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“PPWP adds password protection options not found in WP. It was essential for us to block password protected pages from our RSS feed, which PPWP does great. Furthermore, WPFolio support was fast and very helpful identifying what, in the end, was my mistake and not an issue with their plugin.”
— qrusnell

🎯 Ready to Secure Your Files?

Every day you wait, your files remain exposed. Google is indexing them. Competitors are downloading them. Your revenue is walking out the door.

Secure Your Files Now:
🆓 Download Free Version – Core protection forever
💎 Get Gold Access – Complete file security suite

Why Choose PDA:

✅ Most comprehensive file protection available
✅ Exclusive features like automatic URL replacement
✅ Proven track record – 7+ years, 50,000+ users
✅ Outstanding support – 286+ five-star reviews
✅ Risk-free – 30-day money-back guarantee

Don’t let another day pass with your valuable files exposed. Install PDA now and lock down your content in 60 seconds.

Additional Resources

• Documentation: Setup Guides | Video Tutorials
• Compatibility: WordPress 5.0+, PHP 7.2+, all major hosting providers
• Privacy: Privacy Policy – GDPR compliant
• Support: Free Support | Gold Priority Support
• Complete Protection: For full page, post, and content protection, check out PPWP Pro or Protect Pages & Post (PPP) Gold

Prevent Direct Access – Because “private” should mean PRIVATE 🔒

🚀 Get Started in 60 Seconds
Quick Start Guide:
1️⃣ Install – Search “Prevent Direct Access” in WordPress plugins
2️⃣ Activate – Go to Media Library and switch to List View
3️⃣ Protect – Click “Configure file protection” on any file
4️⃣ Share – Copy the private link and share securely

First Steps After Installation:
– ✅ Protect your most sensitive file as a test
– ✅ Set up custom 403 redirect page
– ✅ Enable hotlink protection
– ✅ Configure IP restrictions if needed
– ✅ Test the private download link

Pro Tip:
Start by protecting a single file to see the magic, then use bulk operations or folder protection (Gold) to secure everything at once.

1. 

   Once you have installed the plugin, click Activate

2. 

   Go to Media to protect your files. Prevent Direct Access works best on List View.

3. 

   There’s an extra column called "Prevent Direct Access" auto-generated by our plugin. Click on "Configure file protection" and start protecting your private file.

4. 

   Click on "Protect this file" button to make the file private.

5. 

   The file is now "protected". Its File Access Permission is set to "The file's author", which means it's accessible to the file's author only. Other users are able to access your protected file using a private download link.

6. 

   You can also protect your file under Media Grid View.

7. 

   There’s an extra “Prevent Direct Access” option generated by our plugin under Attachment Details. Check the “Protect this file” box to protect your file.

8. 

   Once your file is protected, it’ll have a red border.

2.8.8.3 Apr 23, 2025

• [Improvement] Security: Restrict REST API access to file protection endpoints to admin users only.

2.8.8.2 Feb 26, 2025

• [Bugfix] Resolved the developer tool alert issue for page builders.

2.8.8.1 Feb 17, 2025

• [Bugfix] Fixed an issue with shortcut blocking and detection in developer tools prevention.
• [Improvement] Enhanced security measures for generating unique strings.

2.8.8 Jan 28, 2025

• [Improvement] Added customizable right-click alert with tooltip message.
• [Improvement] Enhanced developer tools prevention with shortcut blocking and detection.

2.8.7 July 01, 2024

• [Bug Fix] Resolved issues with Protection and Unprotection links for custom upload directories without year-month paths.

2.8.6.1 May 15, 2024

• [Bugfix] Code improvements and optimizations

2.8.6 May 13, 2024

• [Bugfix] Fixed Callback permission in rest api

2.8.5 September 11, 2023

• [Improvement] Comprehensive code comment documentation has been added
• [Improvement] Added text domains for strings in places where they were previously missing
• [Improvement] Removed unnecessary commented-out code, ensuring a cleaner and more efficient codebase
• [Improvement] The settings page sidebar has been revised to provide users with updated information and a helpful guide

2.8.4 April 07, 2023

• [Fix] Free plugin not working if we have install premium plugin and activate the license and then deactivate the premium plugin

2.8.3 Dec 16, 2022

• [Improvement] Disable right-clicks on iFrames
• [Improvement] Show error messages when protecting deleted files
• [Improvement] Show confirmation messages when protect/unprotect files under Media Library Grid View

2.8.2 August 25, 2022

• [Improvement] Show alert messages when right-clicking on web pages
• [Improvement] Disable more keyboard shortcuts
• [Fix] Allow text input on Safari when disabling right-clicks

2.8.1 Jun 12, 2022

• [New Feature] Restrict media files access to file’s authors only
• [Improvement] Show warning messages on multisites
• [Fix] Show non-latin characters in protected file names

2.8.0 April 20, 2022

• [Improvement] Disable text selection and image drag-and-drop features
• [Improvement] Disable content copy functions
• [Improvement] Display alert message on mouse right click

2.7.10 February 9, 2021

• [Refactoring] Secure input and output data
• [Refactoring] Update Settings UI using WordPress built-in jQuery libraries

2.7.9 Jan 28, 2022

• [New Feature] Provide an settings option to prevent right-clicking on all pages
• [Improvement] Remove “Invite & Earn” submenu & UTM tags on the plugin author URI

2.7.8 December 6, 2021

• Allow admins to access protected files whose FAP are “the file’s author” via a hook
• Display success & error messages when saving IP Restriction settings

2.7.7 October 5, 2021

• Allow protecting unlimited files with PDA Lite plugin
• Improve UI: Remove disabled options

2.7.6 August 13, 2021

• Update embedded documentation links in UI settings
• Test compatibility with WordPress 5.8
• Update GetResponse API 3.0

2.7.5 June 16, 2021

• Provide hook to display PDF thumbnails in the Media Library
• Fix error PHP log when updating a new PDA version

2.7.4 April 7, 2021

• Show rewrite rules for IIS users
• Improve UI: Hide PDA Gold features in the settings page
• Remove error log
• Show Configure pop-up under Media Library for all servers

2.7.3 February 10, 2021

• Improve UI on settings page and show rewrite rules for Nginx users
• Allow users to protect files under Media Library Grid View

2.7.2 December 18, 2020

• Allow admin users to access protected files

2.7.1 August 24, 2020

• Fix PHP notices with WP 5.5

2.7.0 June 16, 2020

• PDA Gold requires PDA Lite
• Un-protecting files don’t update _pda_protection value
• Remove unused files & folders
• Hide “upgrade to PDA Gold” notice if PDA Gold is active
• Change the domain of translation
• Do not support in multisite mode

2.6.0 April 3, 2020

• Improve UI: compatible with WordPress 5.3
• Allow the file’s author to access protected file by default

2.5.1.2 February 5, 2020

• Improve UI: hide Like Plugin column in the settings page

2.5.1.1 November 16, 2019

• Fix add_submenu_page PHP notice issue

2.5.1 November 7, 2019

• Add feature “Prevent Image Hotlinking”
• Prevent Google Indexing for private links
• Fix file access permission when filename contains size

2.5.0.4 October 4, 2019

• Improve UI under settings page

2.5.0.3 August 9, 2019

• Update switch button under settings page
• Show notification when saving settings successfully

2.5.0.2 May 16, 2019

• Fix get lucky button

2.5.0.1 December 04, 2018

• Fix typo

2.5.0 November 18, 2018

• Revamp UI

2.4.0.1 August 10, 2018

• Hot fix [] array declaration cannot work under PHP version < 5.4

2.4.0 June 14, 2018

• Fix cannot remove rewrite rules when deactivate plugin

2.3.9 Tue, April 17, 2018

• Fix “This plugin is not properly prepared for localization”

2.3.8 Thu, April 12, 2018

• Apply localisation

2.3.7 Wed, February 28, 2018

• Test WordPress 4.9.4

2.3.6 Wed, January 31, 2018

• Fix undefined index when get option FREE_PDA_SETTINGS

2.3.5 Fri, January 26, 2018

• Improve UI for settings page

2.3.4 Tue, January 23, 2018

• Improve UI on settings page by revamping checkbox option
• Integrate stop image hotlinking feature
• Show information in order to know whether the file is protected

2.3.3 Mon, January 8, 2018

• Revamp settings page

2.3.2 Wed, November 15, 2017

• Fix wp::prepare warning messages when using in WordPress version 4.8.3.

2.3.1: Sat, November 4, 2017

• Add warning messages when users are using a deprecated wp api plugin.

2.3: Thu, August 17, 2017

• Protect files from search engine’s index

2.2: Wed, June 14, 2017

• Add settings page

2.1.5: Thu, June 1, 2017

• Notify users to upgrade to Gold version
• Update plugin’s data after users remove media files

2.1.4: Mon, May 22, 2017

• Change the way to get non-protected URL
• Redirect to default 404 page if the file is protected
• Support websites hosted on WP Engine

2.1.3: February 25, 2017

• Tweak: Change the plugin’s logic to cater for those files that couldn’t be found in the _postmeta table

2.1.2

• Fix Twitter, Google Plus and Facebook open graph issue

2.1.1

• Fix .htaccess rules to recognize the special characters
• Find in _postmeta table in case of cropped images via wordpress